Category: Seattle and Beyond

Snohomish County Peeps: Be Aware Of Glorious Traffic Nastiness

Carl Setzer
WSDOT Logo

I appreciate the clever wit of our team at the WSDOT. They make the normally dry topic of traffic interesting. I heard about the the highway-line-painter blowing a line earlier this week, and I’ve seen the glorious yellow line as I drive by that daily. Though it’s a bummer about the broken painter machine, I was able to get some good Twitter tread from it. So much clever repartee. Anyway, their email is below for your edification and delight.

A few comments: the last bit is about this Sunday’s Sounders/Mariners games.  Since the games overlap, traffic will be awful. I lived that dream (nightmare) when I worked at Starbucks corporate in SODO (shudder). I recommend Sound Transit’s Sounder Train for these events. It’s slick and easy. If you live around Edmonds, Mukilteo or Everett, the stops are exceptionally convenient. Use it! Make your life better.

 

Paint cleanup on aisle four. …I mean on Sunday

Some of us paint outside the lines because we’re creative. Some – like me – because we aren’t good painters. And sometimes, your equipment just fails. That’s what happened this pastTuesday to one of our lane striping crews on southbound I-5 in Everett, when, during some routine work, a hose on their striping truck broke. This left a stripe of yellow paint in the middle of the HOV lane between about 112th Street Southwest and 128th Street Southwest.

We put up signs warning drivers and everyone seemed to handle it well, but we’re going to fix it all the same. So from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday, May 31, the two left lanes of southbound I-5 from 112th to 128th will be closed while we cover up the paint and get things back to normal.

Nighttime SR 522 ramp closure in Monroe this week

We’re getting oh so close. Our SR 522 widening project in Monroe is nearly complete (they’re mostly down to just final touch-up work) but we still have some closures we need to do before we can call it finished.

The eastbound SR 522 off-ramp to 164th Street Southeast/West Main Street will be closed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly from Monday, June 1 to the morning of Friday, June 5 while contractor crews working for WSDOT do drainage work. A signed detour will be in place. West Main Street from Fryelands Boulevard to the roundabout at the bottom of the closed ramp will also be closed and drivers will follow a pilot car through the work zone.

SR 20 paving project starts in June

It’s not Snohomish County, but probably worth knowing about. As part of our SR 20 paving project between Anacortes and Oak Harbor that starts next month, we’ll be repaving the Deception Pass and Canoe Pass bridges sometime between mid-July and end of August. That will require the bridges to close to traffic for five nights (7:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.) starting on a Sunday and ending on a Friday morning. The bridges will be open on Friday and Saturday nights. Stay tuned for exact dates.

Take me out to the ballgames Sunday

It’s going to be a traffic crunch headed to Sodo on Sunday as the Mariners play the Cleveland Indians at 1:10 p.m. at Safeco Field and the Sounders play the New York Red Bulls at 2 p.m. at CenturyLink Field. If you’re like me and you’re going to one of the games (I’ll have my scarf up for an Oba flip), you’ll want to leave really early, maybe consider taking transit (Sounder trains will be running to the stadiums on Sunday) and definitely pack patience. Have a great weekend!

Questions, comments, suggestions, favorite pizza toppings (I’m an onion, green pepper and tomato guy)? Send them to Mike Allende at allendm@wsdot.wa.gov

 

Bike Exchange At Seaview Elementary June 6

Carl Setzer

Are your kids in need of a bigger bike? Need to get a  bike out of your garage? You may be able to find one at the GayLynne Ullerich Bicycle Extravaganza at Seaview Elementary on Saturday June 6th from 10:00 – 1:00PM. GayLynne was a friend who loved the outdoors, especially cycling. Besides teaching, she taught all kinds of classes at REI. This is a perfect way to honor her. So, bring in a ‘too small’ bike to exchange for a bigger bike, if available.  This fun event includes a bicycle rodeo, bike tune ups and helmets for sale.  Please see below

Seaview Bike Exchange 2015
Seaview Bike Exchange 2015

for details.

 

 

Everett Community College hosts FREE Japanese Anime Arts Festival May 29-30

Carl Setzer
EvCC Anime Logo

Perhaps, like myself, you’d never considered Everett as a bastion of geek culture. But you’d be wrong! We might not match Seattle yet, but we’re moving in the right direction. First, we have Orcacon next January. And this weekend , Everett Community College will be hosting a Anime Arts Festival (a more detailed schedule is available here).  Looks like a fun event, especially if you’re a fan of anime. And, if you’ve either been on the fence or are just curious about this stuff, what a great chance to check out this part of Japanese culture (free…FREE!!).

I hope to make my way there. Will I see you? Let me know if the comments.

Celebration of Food Festival 2015

Carl Setzer
Celebration of Food Logo 2015

We went to this last year and really enjoyed it. Not sure our schedule allows us to this weekend, but if we can, we will go. Hope to see you there.

PARKS, RECREATION & CULTURAL ARTS
Celebration of Food

Taste, explore and experience real food Sunday, May 17th. The Celebration of Food Festival, Sunday, May 17, 2015 from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Lynnwood Convention Center, 3711 196th St. SW, Lynnwood.

The festival is a free family event that innovatively highlights sustainable, local, organic and wholesome (SLOW) food. “In our fourth year, we are still running a very unique event. We bring people together from Snohomish County and beyond to showcase delicious, local, wholesome food,” said festival organizer Chris Hudyma. “Our intent is to foster a community that is passionate about real food. It’s a journey for people to rediscover that they can grow and cook their own food and that it can taste so much better than the processed food we so often eat in this country.”

Highlights of the festival include: educational presentations; cooking demonstrations; children’s story tent and book giveaways; hands-on kids’ cooking and kitchen skills station; and vendors consisting of local farms and businesses.

  • The Celebration of Food Festival promotes the following long-range goals:
  • Increase community health and wellness by promoting access and utilization of SLOW food.
  • Enhance our county’s ability to connect people and businesses that bring SLOW food to our tables.
  • Support farmers, farmers’ markets, businesses, non-profits and government in making Snohomish County a sustainable and economically viable place to live and work by providing Festival sponsors, vendors and presenters opportunities to promote their food-related endeavors.
  • Educate and raise community awareness of our rich agricultural heritage.
  • Promote and demonstrate benefits of sustainable agriculture, locally grown and naturally prepared food.
  • Further establish Snohomish County as a hub for regional food and foster tourism and economic vitality.

The Celebration of Food Festival is brought to you by Edmonds Community College and the City of Lynnwood with support by: Cedar Grove Compost, Central Market, Edmonds CC Campus Green Fund. Grow Northwest, PCC Natural Markets, Swedish Edmonds, Verdant Health Commission, and Whole Foods Market Lynnwood.

For more information about the Food Festival, visit www.edcc.edu/foodfest.

 

Walking in Lynnwood

Carl Setzer

I love walking; decent exercise and good for maintaining connection to the neighborhood. Yes magazine featured their Most Walkable Suburb, and we have much to learn from Arlington, VA. I’d like to see businesses better integrate into neighborhoods. This would feature some really basic notions, like sidewalks in parking lots and better flow design. The good folks at America Walks created a great resource for making communities walkable.

The gardens and trees I see delight me, as do the brief chats with neighbors. Signs of construction and repair are easily seen, too. Lynnwood had become much more walkable over the past few years. The city is taking it seriously, adding sidewalks and such. We’re not perfect and have a long way to go, but we’re moving the right way. I see more people walking, which reinforces my view, and makes me happy.

Beware: Jury Duty Scam

Carl Setzer

From the City of Lynnwood:

LYNNWOOD, WA (May 8, 2015) – Judge Stephen E. Moore and the Lynnwood Municipal Court want to alert Lynnwood residents to a jury duty scam that has become more prevalent across the country and around Washington. We value our citizens willing to serve on jury duty a great deal, and are very concerned that you might become victims of a scam artist out to take your money, and using the name of the court to do so.

Please be aware that citizens in several Washington Counties as well as around the country have lost large sums of money. Here is how it usually happens: an individual calls or e-mails and claims that you have missed jury duty. As a result, they indicate a warrant has been issued for your arrest and/or that the Sheriff is en route to arrest you, and demands payment, a credit card number, or a social security number for failure to appear for jury duty. 

Court officers will never ask for payment over the phone or by e-mail. Court officials will never ask for you to purchase a pre-paid card, provide cash or a check to pay for failure to appear for jury duty. Never give out personal information by phone or e-mail. Please report any suspicious activity to your local law enforcement agency. For more information, visit www.courts.wa.gov. 

Considering Sustainability

Carl Setzer

Sustainability has been a significant part of my journey for years. Perhaps the most obvious element was my time at Starbucks working in environmental affairs, but that’s really only a piece. Also, my time with the Episcopal Church, where I interacted closely with the Earth Ministry greatly expanding my learning. Just two of the more significant parts of my life. I’ve been exploring this idea for decades.

My goal is greater than just understanding sustainability, but finding ways to live it. Really, defining it is the easy part. It’s living it that’s tough. I’m paraphrasing my friends Brian and Mary Natrass with this definition: a sustainable society is one that takes no more then it returns to the ecosystem. Balance. And though the term “sustainble” gets thrown about a great deal nowadays, I’m not aware of any element or system in modern society that meets that description. Our consumer economy is, actually, the exact opposite. Continued exploitation returns nothing to our systems. Single use and dispose fails, too. There’s so much opportunity to progress and grow.

All may be distressing, but not cause for despair. Humans are highly adaptable. We will adjust and survive. My goal is for something beyond survival. Rather, thriving; with a new definition of thriving. That what I shall explore now.

Rare Opportunity: Tour of the new 520 Floating Bridge

Carl Setzer

As part of the construction of the new 520 bridge, the Washington State DOT will be offering tours. I’m not aware of this being offered before, so it’s pretty unique.

Full Public Tour Information here. Basic details below. Key thing: Advanced registration is required.

SR 520 Floating Bridge Tour Dates

Tours will be held monthly from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month. The current tour dates (which are subject to change if needed) are:

  • May 30, 2015 ( Registration Open, closes 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 13 )
  • June 27, 2015
  • July 25, 2015
  • August 29, 2015
  • September 26, 2015

SR 520 Floating Bridge Tour Details

  • The tours include a walk of approximately two miles round trip. Visitors must be able to walk over uneven, steep terrain and climb up and down about 70 stairs.
  • Tours last approximately two hours.
  • Tours begin at the Evergreen Point Road Lid Park and Ride: SR 520 & Evergreen Point Road in Medina.
  • Tours will be conducted rain or shine. Please dress for the weather. In cases of severe weather, such as snow or ice, tours may be canceled with short notice.
  • Tours may be canceled and dates may change for any reason due to the dynamic nature of construction activities.

 

Today’s Give Big: If you’re at a loss, here are a few suggestions

Carl Setzer

Today is the Seattle Foundation’s Give Big challenger, where they will partially match your donations. Here are a few of my favorites, providing specific opportunities to leverage your giving.

There are many, many others out there. Go to the Seattle Foundation’s Give Big site for the definitive list.

The rains return

Carl Setzer

Looks like it’s a slippery-slidey mess out there already. But prepared and give yourself extra time. You might want to unplug the home electronics, too. Chances of thunderstorms.

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